BMCC Language Immersion for International Students (BLIIS)

BMCC Language Immersion for International Students (BLIIS) is a pre-matriculation success program that provides a full semester of intensive instruction in all English skills, especially reading and writing, to prepare international students for credit-bearing college courses.  Meetings are held in the afternoon, Monday through Friday, 4 hours per day.

F-1 visa holders who have been accepted to BMCC and whose first language is not English may choose to attend the BMCC Language Immersion for International Students (BLIIS) program if they:

-Require developmental education in reading/writing (consult with your academic advisor). 

-Have a low proficiency index score

-Have not passed CUNY assessment exams.

Differences between BLIIS and Developmental Classes such as ACR and ESL:

 -BLIIS integrates reading, writing, and speaking instruction all in one class. ACR teaches reading skills and ESL teaches writing.

 -BLIIS meets 20 hours per week. Students receive individual attention in small class sizes.  ACR/ESL combined meet 12 hrs/week.

 -The tuition to enroll in BLIIS is $2,200.  Tuition for ACR/ESL is about $4,010 + fees.

 -In BLIIS all students are able to retake the proficiency exam.  For ACR/ESL, only the students in the highest level classes (ACR 95/ESL 95) can retake the proficiency tests.

More information can be found in this video and the BMCC BLIIS homepage.

If you are interested in BLIIS, please text the Director Paul Shively at (212) 776-2422 or email him at pshively@bmcc.cuny.edu to set up an appointment online.

You can also speak to an international student adviser in the Admissions Office.